Monday, October 8, 2007

It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.

Here are some common Myths about mental illness from Parenting with a mental illness:
  • People who have a mental illness are just "crazy"
  • Depression and other illnesses, such as anxiety disorders, do not affect children or adolescents.
  • People with a severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia, are usually dangerous and violent.
  • Addiction is a lifestyle choice and shows a lack of willpower. People with a substance abuse problem are morally weak or "bad".
  • Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), formerly known as "shock treatment," is painful and barbaric.
  • People with mental illness are poor and/or less intelligent.
  • Mental illness is caused by a personal weakness.
  • Mental illness is a single, rare disorder.
  • Mental illness only happens to people with a family history.
  • Mental illness is the same as mental retardation.
  • People with a mental illness are unable to function well.
  • Depression and anxiety disorders are part of growing up.
  • Mentally ill employees tend to be second-rate workers.
  • Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) happens only after you fight in a war. That's why it's called shell shock.
  • Depression is all in your head.
  • Mental illness is the result of bad parenting.
  • Schizophrenia means "split personality," and there is no way to control it.
  • Mental illness does not strike the "average person."
  • Mental illness is not a serious health problem today.
  • Most people with a mental illness are receiving treatment.
  • Mental illness is not like other "Physical" diseases.
  • Most people who are mentally ill live in mental hospitals or on the streets.

Fact: Don’t be too quick to judge. Someone you knows suffers from a mental illness.

1 comment:

annamade said...

I wish I could bop a certain "someone" over the head with this stuff. I am so done with that someone right now....